Patriot
by Regal Panther
Summary: Canadians have a quiet pride in their country. They might not flaunt it, but they love their country. And by God if its neighbour is threatened they will stand up with pride and say, "I am Canadian, and I will stop you!" Some coarse language.


Not really sure what inspired this besides the absolute awesomeness of Canada and the patriots that exist in every country.

Lol. Crazy ideas and love for Canada turned into a kind of one-shot. Thing.

Woo!

Anyway, in case you haven't noticed, I'm really proud of the fact that I can say, "I'm Canadian!"

-Panther-chan

* * *

Cassandra was, in a word, tired. She was tired of her teacher's inability to control his students. She was tired of her classmates complaining. She was tired of being in a bus. She was tired of being awake. She was tired of eating snacks. She was tired of waiting at the border. She was just... tired.

Her school had organized a trip to Boston for some kind of upcoming history project, one with pictures and quotes from people about their city. She had brought her new camera, but was hiding it so no one would ask her if they could use it because they forgot their own. Eventually, the bus stopped at the border and two hours later, they were still waiting to get in.

It was probably because of the car in front of them, with a loud American who claimed to returning home from his brother's house. The idiot had guns in his trunk, so naturally the crossing guard has stopped him to question him. It was taking so long because he had papers that showed him to be some kind o government official. Cassandra knew this because she had been standing outside the bus to get some fresh air, and had overheard the very loud man claim such.

As it was, she guessed that they would be there for a lot longer, and not only would they be late to the hotel, they wouldn't get to visit the museum of natural history that Boston boasted of to its tourists.

"Hey! Stop!"

She looked over to the loud man, who was panicking and climbing over cars in an effort to get away from... someone. "Help me!" he screamed, drawing out the "e". There was a Russian chasing him with a bloodied pipe, smashing cars right after the American got out of the way. She narrowed her eyes dangerously and ran into the bus. To get the attention of her classmates, she yodelled. The strangeness made them look to her, and she appealed to her friends, who she knew were very patriotic.

"There's an American running away from some crazy Russian with a pipe who's trying to kill him!"

Moments later, several guys and a girl with an American dad had rallied everyone and they were pouring out of the bus to defend the guy. Forty-some-odd high school kids who were tired of being cooped up versus a Russian with a pipe: the odds weren't exactly against them and they rushed to help the American. Cassandra grabbed his upper arm just as he ran by and used his momentum to swing him toward the bus.

"Get in there!"

"Thanks!"

He vanished into the vehicle and the Russian approached somewhat hesitantly. She pushed her way to the head of the group, next to her friend Daren, and crossed her arms defiantly. "Why the hell are you attacking that guy?"

"He has upset me."

"Doesn't matter! Right now, you're on Canadian soil. He's an American, our neighbour, so we're not going to let you hurt him. Back off!" she snarled, and the large man blinked and looked up to whatever was behind her. "You may not like Americans, but the US is Canada's neighbour. We _won't_ let you do this."

"Da, I understand. Very well. I will leave." Without another word he left, people getting out of their cars to see what was going on. He disappeared into the nearby brush and there were no signs of him returning. She turned to see what he might have been looking at, but didn't see anything, so she went back into the bus, leaving her classmates to discuss what had just happened. Obviously, they were quite proud.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asked the America when she found him huddled up on the floor in the middle of the bus.

"Of course! The hero is always okay!" He waited. "Is the Russian gone?" he muttered nervously. She grinned.

"Yeah, I think he was a bit scared. Forty-six irate teens versus large Russian man is not good odds for him."

"Yeah, you're right. Um, are you guys Canadian or American?"

"We're Canadian."

He detected the pride underlying her voice and smiled to himself. His brother really was lucky to have so many patriots hiding at his place.

"Well, thanks! You just saved the US from Russia!"

She raised an eyebrow, but shrugged to herself and sighed. "Well, he's gone now. You can go back to arguing with the crossing guards."

"Eheh... right. Um, where are you guys headed?"

"Well, we were going to the museum of natural history first, but I don't think we're going to make it. We're just a bit late as it is."

"Really? Shit, I'm sorry! I didn't realize that having my hunting rifles would get me in trouble. I do this all the time, but I guess things are just getting tighter and tighter at the border..."

"Meh." She shrugged. "The US and Canada trust each other, and we _do_ have the longest open border, but still. There are limits."

"Yeah," _but there shouldn't be_, he finished in his head. "Well, thanks again for saving my life from that crazy bastard! What's your name?"

"Cassandra Summers. You?"

"I'm Alfred F. Jones! The hero!"

"Right. Well, you're welcome."

He left the bus and she thought that was the last time she was going to see the childish man. However, that afternoon at the hotel, there was knocking at the door and she and her roommate stood at the same time.

"I'll get it, Abigail."

"Right. Well, I'm going to the bathroom."

"Kay."

The door opened to reveal two guys in blacks suits with earpieces and sunglasses, and Alfred F. Jones. "Hey Cassie! Can I call you Cassie?" She nodded. "Great! Good to see you again! I think I can trust you with this big secret because you quite literally helped to save the United States of America! I'm the United States of America, also called Alfred F. Jones! My brother Matthew Williams is Canada! He's really proud of you! With a capital p! You guys are great! I've arranged for you and your classmates to go see the military museum for free! Isn't that great? And if you see Russia again, he's also called Ivan Braginsky, just tell him there's a sunflower field over there! Or better yet, tell him you saw some crazy chick with a knife chanting, "Married, married, married!" He'll flip out! Well, it was great to see you again!" He gave her a bear hug grinned. "I freaking love you Canadians! You're awesome with a capital a! Have fun in Boston! I might see you later, if my boss lets me! Thanks again for saving me from Russia! Bye!"

One of the men slammed the door shut and Cassandra blinked. "What the _fuck_ was that?"

Her roommate Abigail came out of the bathroom. "... I feel like I missed something," she said, looking at Cassandra. The other girl nodded absently.

"I do too, actually."

"Right."

Back at his house in Boston, Alfred sighed and smiled softly. The people visiting his country from Canada always reminded him of just how lucky he was. Without his brother, he'd be long gone. When 9/11 happened, all those planes had to land somewhere – and Canada opened his doors and gave them everything they needed until they could go back home. World War I and World War II, and the only thing his troops could think of was how very, very lucky they were to have the Canadians on _their_ side because by God they might just win the war on their own. Every time he had been in trouble, every time his people were scared and needed help, Canada stepped in. USA and Canada: Brothers and Allies 'til the end. No one shared more unguarded border space because hey, the Canadians were their friends. What did the US have to defend against?

Sure, they had their own occasional scuffle, like with the Front de Liberation de Quebec: but they were more than capable of living on their own. Canada could simply shut itself off from the rest of the world, and since the provinces and territories were so connected, so unified, the country could survive on its own perfectly fine. Yet Matthew insisted that he had to keep the borders open. Always open. Always free.

"You know something, Boston?"

"Wassat, Alfred?"

"We're lucky. Really, really lucky."

"Why?"

"Because of Canada."

"... Yeah. I know."

He pretended not to see his brother, but that's because he knew Matthew was shy. He knew Matthew couldn't stand up for himself unless the times were dire. So he drew the attention to himself to keep his brother reliant on him to let the Canadian voice be heard. It wasn't nice, but it kept the brothers together.

"I wanna go tell him. Right now."

"Alright, I'll keep an eye on things."

"And that group of students, right?"

"Yep."

He knocked on his brother's door and the moment it opened he flung his arms around the second-largest nation.

"Oh my God Mattie your people saved my life," he muttered into his brother's shoulder. The other one struggled to keep them both standing and returned the brotherly embrace, confused.

"Um, how?"

"Russia found me, tried to kill me, that crazy bastard. Forty-something of your high school students poured out of a bus and told him to back the fuck off. And he did! Fuck, Mattie, you just saved my fucking life. Again." He held his brother at arm's length to get a good look at him. "What the hell would I do without you?"

"Um...what?"

"Your students, high school students, just unwittingly saved the United States of America from a Russian invasion."

"...Really?"

"Yep!"

The two chatted for a while and, surprisingly, Alfred brought up the borders. "You know... I think us having the borders open... I think it helps people."

"How so?" his quiet brother asked.

"Well, think about it: two neighboring countries, one who seemingly wants to expand to control all of America: and one who just wants to keep the borders open because it trusts the other. It really teaches people about how much Canada and the USA... well, care about each other, I guess. You know?"

Mattie blinked, and not for the first time, an indescribable expression flitted across his face: powerful, strong, thoughtful, smart... and caring. "Yeah. I think you're right."

Without really outright saying it, the two brothers once again confirmed that they loved the other unconditionally, would stick together. Always.

When Alfred left to go back to his house, Canada called up one of his friends. They had met through a class group meeting program, where CEGEP students met with high school students to help them get used to the idea of growing up. He had placed himself in a CEGEP to check out the system, and had met a young girl who was so proud to be Canadian, just hearing the national anthem made her want to cry. She was proud because Canada was such a good neighbour, such a strong, unified country that presented a mosaic of cultures to the world.

The phone rang and she picked up. "Hello?"

"Hey, Cassie. Guess who just visited?"

"Guess what I heard?"

They said their own sentences simultaneously and Matthew chuckled. "You first."

"Naw, you. Go ahead, I got time."

"Alright. Well, my brother visited me and told me about a group of students that rescued an American at the border from a crazy Russian with a pipe." He laughed mentally, knowing it was her. He was her home country, so it was natural for him to know all about her, and what she did. Of course, she didn't know that.

"Yeah, that kinda pertains to what I was gonna say, actually."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. That guy was Alfred F. Jones, right? Says he's the United States of America. I think he was on crack, though, because he was _really fucking hyper_. He seemed really cool, though. Like an older brother that acts like a younger brother, until something happens, right?"

"Yeah. How did you know his name?"

"Guess who was at the border?"

"... You started that thing, didn't you."

"Yep! Told my classmates – who were very bored, by the way – about a crazy Russian trying to kill an American with a bloody pipe. They, of course, wanted to save the American, because we're Canadian and the USA and Canada are brothers and blah, and blah, and blah. Anyway! Apparently either you or someone else with your name is Canada."

He blinked. "Oh. He told you, didn't he? Did he tell anyone else?"

"Nope! But to keep me quiet, you have to give me something," she said with a sing-song voice. Matthew couldn't say he didn't know what she wanted, but asked anyway.

"What do you want?"

"A hug!"

He deadpanned. "Why do you want a hug?" He knew, of course, but it was nice to hear things like that being spoken out loud.

"Because I've always wanted to hug Canada. I can't hug a landmass, though. Not properly, anyway."

"Alright, alright. I'll come find you when you get back and give you a hug."

"Woo! So, how was your day, dear country of mine?" He knew she was ecstatic at being able to hug Canada, he knew she was beyond patriotic, he knew she would die before she let the name Canada be sullied, he knew she didn't need Canada to be known as great to be proud, he knew she was proud of being Canadian, he knew she loved the country and all it held and all it meant, he knew she loved Canada, and he knew she just wanted to be able to share that pride with others, let them see how good a place Canada really was. He knew all this, and it was people like her that made him want to cry in happiness.

He couldn't help but smile. "It was pretty good. Alfred came over to talk, and of course, he made a mess in the kitchen trying to make something ridiculous with bacon."

On the other side of the phone line, Cassandra smiled. "That's cool. Hey, I got a question. Since you're my country, do you know what I'm thinking and stuff?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Kay, hold on."

She looked around to make sure she wouldn't be interrupted, and began to sing mentally. "_O Canada, our home and native land. True patriot love in all thy sons command..._" She made sure to let her pride well up again, to let her love for Canada be known.

When she was finished, she heard a faint sniff from the other side, and a quiet thank you. She smiled, knowing her message had been sent and received properly, and said, "I don't wanna sound creepy or anything, but I really love you. You know?"

"Yes, I know... Thank you. So much."

They smiled. Nothing else needed to be said but that: "I love you."

* * *

So yeah. As I already said, I fucking love Canada. I want to hug him.

-Panther-chan


End file.
